# Nick Lee (wrestler)

Nicholas Boone Lee (born March 12, 1998) is an American freestyle and former folkstyle wrestler who competes at 65 kilograms. He is also an assistant coach for the Penn State wrestling team. In freestyle, he is a Pan American champion and a US National champion. Lee represented the United States at 65 kg at the 2023 World Wrestling Championships.
In folkstyle, Lee was a two-time NCAA Division I National champion and a Big Ten Conference champion out of the Pennsylvania State University.

## Career
### High school

A native of Evansville, Indiana, Lee attended Mater Dei High School, where he was a IHSAA state champion along with his two brothers Joe and Matt. In freestyle, Lee was a two-time Fargo National champion.
A Penn State commit, Lee decided to forego his senior year and graduated early in order to train at the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club.

### Pennsylvania State University
#### 2016–2017

While not officially attending the Pennsylvania State University, Lee went 2–2 at the Bill Farrell Memorial International in freestyle in November 2016. In February of the following year, Lee placed third at the Edinboro Open while wrestling unattached. Back to freestyle, Lee placed fifth at the U20 US Nationals. Lee also beat Sammy Sasso at Who’s Number 1 and Kanen Storr in the Fargo Finals to affirm his ranking of #1 in the country his senior year.

#### 2017–2018

Competing under a redshirt, Lee placed first at the Mat Town Open, second at the Southern Scuffle and Clarion Open, and third at the Binghamtom Open. In January, Lee's redshirt was pulled, competing as a true freshman instead.
After a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, Lee became an All-American with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA tournament, closing off the year at 32–7. Lee then competed at the U20 US World Team Trials, placing second.

#### 2018–2019

During the regular season of his sophomore year, Lee claimed titles from the Southern Scuffle and Keystone Classic. At the Big Ten Championships he once again placed third, before repeating as an All-American with another fifth-place finish at the NCAA tournament to close off the year at 31–4.

#### 2019–2020

In the midst of folkstyle season, Lee placed third at the 2019 US National Championships with notable wins over Olympian Frank Molinaro, US National runner-up Jaydin Eierman and NCAA runner-up Ethan Lizak, qualifying for the US Olympic Team Trials.
After winning the Black Knight Invitational during regular season, Lee improved to a second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships to close out the year at 20–1. The NCAA championships were then cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving Lee, the second-seed, and all other wrestlers unable to compete.

#### 2020–2021

After several months off competition, Lee won two freestyle matches at the NLWC III and NLWC IV. Back to folkstyle, Lee placed second at the Big Ten tournament before becoming an NCAA National champion, defeating Eierman in the finals, whom he lost to in the Big Ten finals. Lee closed out the year at 13–1.
Fresh as an NCAA champion, Lee competed at the rescheduled US Olympic Team Trials in April, securing a prestigious third-place finish with a lone loss to two-time NCAA champion Jordan Oliver, and notable wins over three-time NCAA champion Zain Retherford, two-time U17 World champion Yianni Diakomihalis, NCAA champion Nahshon Garrett and U20 World finalist Mitch McKee.

#### 2021–2022

Lee went undefeated during his senior year of collegiate wrestling, becoming a two-time NCAA champion and a Big Ten champion with a 21–0 record. Lee was then named the Penn State Male Athlete of the Year, and closed off his career as a two-time NCAA champion and a four-time All-American with a record of 116–13.
Back to freestyle, Lee was unable to place at the US World Team Trials Challenge tournament in May. In November, Lee placed second at the Bill Farrell Memorial, notably defeating U23 World silver medalist Adlan Askarov in the first round.

#### 2023

To start off January, Lee placed seventh at the Grand Prix Zagreb Open, defeating eventual 2023 World finalist Sebastian Rivera before falling to eventual 2023 World champion Ismail Musukaev. On April, Lee became the US Open National champion, with wins over two-time Pan American champion Joseph McKenna and U20 World medalist Beau Bartlett, qualifying for Final X.
At Final X, in June, Lee defeated four-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis in two close matches to make the US World Team. In July, Lee made the Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial finals, with wins over World medalist Alibek Osmonov and European medalist Islam Dudaev, before falling to World medalist Tömör-Ochiryn Tulga.
At the World Championships, Lee advanced with wins over European medalist Krzysztof Bienkowski, NCAA All-American Austin Gomez and U20 World champion Umidjon Jalolov, before being eliminated by returning World champion Rahman Amouzad, placing seventh in his first showing at the tournament.

#### 2024

To start off February, Lee beat rival Yianni Diakomihalis on points in a US Pan American Qualifier wrestle-off, before Diakomihalis forfeited the next match due to injury.
Lee then competed at the Pan American Championships later in the month, claiming the gold medal. At the Pan American Olympic Qualification Tournament, Lee was defeated by Mexico's Austin Gomez and was therefore unable to qualify the weight for the United States.
In April, Lee competed at the US Olympic Team Trials as the top-seed, where after defeating two-time Pan American champion Alec Pantaleo and two-time US National champion Andrew Alirez, he fell to reigning World champion and teammate Zain Retherford in two straight matches to place second.
In May, Lee was named an assistant coach of the Penn State wrestling team under head coach Cael Sanderson. Despite his new position, Lee emphasized that he was "definitely not retired" from competition.

## Freestyle record

Senior Freestyle Matches :
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Score | Date | Event | Location |
| 2024 US Olympic Team Trials at 65 kg |||||||
| Loss | 36–13 | Zain Retherford | 0–5 | April 20, 2024 | 2024 US Olympic Team Trials | State College, Pennsylvania |
| Loss | 36–12 | Zain Retherford | 1–2 | April 20, 2024 | 2024 US Olympic Team Trials | State College, Pennsylvania |
| Win | 36–11 | Andrew Alirez | 11–9 | April 19, 2024 | 2024 US Olympic Team Trials | State College, Pennsylvania |
| Win | 35–11 | Alec Pantaleo | 9–2 | April 19, 2024 | 2024 US Olympic Team Trials | State College, Pennsylvania |
| 2024 Pan American Olympic Qualification 9th at 65 kg |||||||
| Loss | 34–11 | Austin Gomez | TF 12–22 | March 1, 2024 | 2024 Pan American Olympic Qualification Tournament | Acapulco, Mexico |
| 2024 Pan American Championships at 65 kg |||||||
| Win | | Agustin Destribats | INJ | February 24, 2024 | 2024 Pan American Continental Championships | Acapulco, Mexico |
| Win | 34–10 | Jacob Alexander Torres | TF 10–0 | February 24, 2024 | 2024 Pan American Continental Championships | Acapulco, Mexico |
| Win | 33–10 | Josh Kramer | TF 10–0 | February 24, 2024 | 2024 Pan American Continental Championships | Acapulco, Mexico |
| 2024 US Pan American Qualifier at 65 kg |||||||
| Win | | Yianni Diakomihalis | FF | February 3, 2024 | 2024 US Pan American Qualifier | Denver, Colorado |
| Win | 32–10 | Yianni Diakomihalis | 12–3 | February 3, 2024 | 2024 US Pan American Qualifier | Denver, Colorado |
| 2023 World Championships 7th at 65 kg |||||||
| Loss | 31–10 | Rahman Amouzad | 4–7 | September 18, 2023 | 2023 World Championships | Belgrade, Serbia |
| Win | 31–9 | Umidjon Jalolov | 4–3 | September 18, 2023 | 2023 World Championships | Belgrade, Serbia |
| Win | 30–9 | Austin Gomez | Fall | September 18, 2023 | 2023 World Championships | Belgrade, Serbia |
| Win | 29–9 | Krzysztof Bieńkowski | 6–0 | September 18, 2023 | 2023 World Championships | Belgrade, Serbia |
| 2023 Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial at 65 kg |||||||
| Loss | 28–9 | Tömör-Ochiryn Tulga | TF 0–10 | July 13–16, 2023 | 2023 Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial Tournament | Budapest, Hungary |
| Win | 28–8 | Islam Dudaev | 6–4 | July 13–16, 2023 | 2023 Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial Tournament | Budapest, Hungary |
| Win | 27–8 | Alibek Osmonov | TF 10–0 | July 13–16, 2023 | 2023 Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial Tournament | Budapest, Hungary |
| Win | 26–8 | Josh Finesilver | TF 10–0 | July 13–16, 2023 | 2023 Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial Tournament | Budapest, Hungary |
| 2023 US World Team Trials at 65 kg |||||||
| Win | 25–8 | Yianni Diakomihalis | 8–8 | June 10, 2023 | 2023 Final X Newark | Newark, New Jersey |
| Win | 24–8 | Yianni Diakomihalis | 7–6 | June 10, 2023 | 2023 Final X Newark | Newark, New Jersey |
| 2023 US Open at 65 kg |||||||
| Win | 23–8 | Joseph McKenna | 10–5 | April 26–30, 2023 | 2023 US Open National Championships | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Win | 22–8 | Beau Bartlett | 10–10 | April 26–30, 2023 | 2023 US Open National Championships | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Win | 21–8 | Matthew Kolodzik | TF 12–1 | April 26–30, 2023 | 2023 US Open National Championships | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Win | 20–8 | Jason Miranda | TF 10–0 | April 26–30, 2023 | 2023 US Open National Championships | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Win | 19–8 | Hayden Bates | TF 10–0 | April 26–30, 2023 | 2023 US Open National Championships | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 2023 Grand Prix Zagreb Open 7th at 65 kg |||||||
| Loss | 18–8 | Ismail Musukaev | TF 0–11 | February 1, 2023 | 2023 Grand Prix Zagreb Open | Zagreb, Croatia |
| Win | 18–7 | Sebastian Rivera | TF 13–2 | February 1, 2023 | 2023 Grand Prix Zagreb Open | Zagreb, Croatia |
| 2022 Bill Farrell Memorial at 65 kg |||||||
| Loss | 17–7 | Taiyrbek Zhumashbek Uulu | TF 4–14 | November 18–19, 2022 | 2022 Bill Farrell Memorial International | New York City, New York |
| Win | 17–6 | Pat Lugo | 4–0 | November 18–19, 2022 | 2022 Bill Farrell Memorial International | New York City, New York |
| Win | 16–6 | Kamol Begakov | 9–2 | November 18–19, 2022 | 2022 Bill Farrell Memorial International | New York City, New York |
| Win | 15–6 | Askarov Adlan | TF 18–8 | November 18–19, 2022 | 2022 Bill Farrell Memorial International | New York City, New York |
| 2022 US World Team Trials DNP at 65 kg |||||||
| Loss | 14–6 | Joseph McKenna | TF 3–13 | May 21–22, 2022 | 2022 US World Team Trials Challenge | Coralville, Iowa |
| Loss | 14–5 | Evan Henderson | 11–12 | May 21–22, 2022 | 2022 US World Team Trials Challenge | Coralville, Iowa |
| Win | 14–4 | Matthew Kolodzik | TF 12–2 | May 21–22, 2022 | 2022 US World Team Trials Challenge | Coralville, Iowa |
| Win | 13–4 | Josh Saunders | 10–3 | May 21–22, 2022 | 2022 US World Team Trials Challenge | Coralville, Iowa |
| 2020 US Olympic Team Trials at 65 kg |||||||
| Win | 12–4 | Yianni Diakomihalis | 16–8 | April 2–3, 2021 | 2020 US Olympic Team Trials | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Win | 11–4 | Zain Retherford | 10–4 | April 2–3, 2021 | 2020 US Olympic Team Trials | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Win | 10–4 | Nahshon Garrett | TF 12–2 | April 2–3, 2021 | 2020 US Olympic Team Trials | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Loss | 9–4 | Jordan Oliver | 3–8 | April 2–3, 2021 | 2020 US Olympic Team Trials | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Win | 9–3 | Mitch McKee | TF 14–2 | April 2–3, 2021 | 2020 US Olympic Team Trials | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Win | 8–3 | Tariq Wilson | 14–10 | December 22, 2020 | NLWC IV | State College, Pennsylvania |
| Win | 7–3 | Brandon Wright | TF 10–0 | November 24, 2020 | NLWC III | State College, Pennsylvania |
| 2019 US Nationals at 65 kg |||||||
| Win | | Yianni Diakomihalis | FF | December 20–22, 2019 | 2019 US National Championships | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Win | 6–3 | Frank Molinaro | TF 10–0 | December 20–22, 2019 | 2019 US National Championships | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Loss | 5–3 | Jordan Oliver | TF 0–10 | December 20–22, 2019 | 2019 US National Championships | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Win | 5–2 | Joey Lazor | TF 10–0 | December 20–22, 2019 | 2019 US National Championships | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Win | 4–2 | Jaydin Eierman | 10–6 | December 20–22, 2019 | 2019 US National Championships | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Win | 3–2 | Ethan Lizak | TF 10–0 | December 20–22, 2019 | 2019 US National Championships | Fort Worth, Texas |
| 2016 Bill Farrell Memorial DNP at 61 kg |||||||
| Loss | 2–2 | Joey Lazor | TF 2–12 | November 9–11, 2016 | 2016 Bill Farrell Memorial International | New York City, New York |
| Win | 2–1 | Shelton Mack | 9–8 | November 9–11, 2016 | 2016 Bill Farrell Memorial International | New York City, New York |
| Loss | 1–1 | Jayson Ness | TF 0–10 | November 9–11, 2016 | 2016 Bill Farrell Memorial International | New York City, New York |
| Win | 1–0 | Alan Waters | TF 15–4 | November 9–11, 2016 | 2016 Bill Farrell Memorial International | New York City, New York |